Auger conveyer for harvester platforms



Jan.20,1942 H. w; plL HER Em 2,210,411

AUGER CONVEYER FOR HARVESTER PLATFORMS Original Filed March 1, 1 940 3Sheets-Sheet 1 VENTOR LCHER LER - HAROLD w. Pl

IN w. OEH

ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 20, 1942. H. w. PILCHER ETAL 2,270,471

AUGER CONVEYER FOR HARVESTER PLATFORMS Original Fi led March 1, 1940 5Sheets-Sheet 2 as? mi INVENTOR: HAROLD W. PILCHER VlN W. OEHLER-ATTORNEYS.

H. W. PILCHER El AL.

Jan. 20, 1942.

AUGER CONVEYER FOR HARVESTER PLATFORMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Origifial FiledMarch 1 1940 FIG. 5

5 ME Y THR E N E N EmL R VPH 0 N E T D L O R A H Patented Jan. 20, 1942UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- AUGER, CONVEYER FOR HARVESTER PLATF ORMSHarold W. Pilcher, Rock Island, and Alvin W.

Oehler, Moline, 111., assignors to Deere & Company, Moline, 111., acorporation of Illinois Original application March 1, 1940, Serial No.321,678. Divided and this application August 17, 1940, Serial No.353,078

Claims.

The present invention relates to au er 'conveyers for harvesterplatforms and is a division of an application Serial No. 321,678 filedMarch 1, 1940 by Pilcher, Oehler, and Paradise.

The principal object of this invention relates to the provision of anovel and improved auger tube conveyer for a harvester platform, whichfacilitates assembly and disassembly and which can be operatedefliciently under widely varying crop conditions, to convey the cropwith a 'itis desirable to increase the clearance between edge of thebaiiie and the edge of the blades of minimum loss of grain and with aminimum of clogging or slug in For transport purposes it is necessary ina machine of this type to reduce the width of the platform toaccommodate the machine to narrow roads and gates. To accomplish thispurpose, we

found it preferable to remove the auger in one unitary piece, afterwhich the outer end of the platform can be dismounted.- The auger issupported on a shaft which extends across the platform and is supportedin a pair of journal bear-- ings at opposite ends thereof carried in theend walls of the platform, respectively, the drive gears and overloadrelease clutch mechanism being mounted on the auger shaft outside of onethe auger.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent after a consideration of the following description; in whichreference is had to the drawings appended hereto, in which 1 Figure 1 isa perspective view ofa harvester platform embodying the principles ofour invenof the end walls. To facilitate the assembly and disassembly ofthe auger, it is one of the specific objects of our invention to providea bearing mounting, which will permit removing the auger withoutnecessity of disassembling and removing the draft gear and slip clutchfrom the auger shaft.

In the accomplishment of this object, the end wall of the platform isprovided with an opening large enough to permit the shaft with thedriving mechanism mounted thereon to be insertedtherethrough. The shaftbearing is attached to a plate, which can then be rigidly secured to thewall in a position-to completely cover the opening.

It is customary to provide a baflle disposed horizontally along the backwall of the platform and extending forwardly over the upper portion ofthe auger conveyer for the purpose of assisting the conveyer in movingthe harvested material along the platform trough and preventing thematerial from winding around the auger. It is desirable that the forwardedge of the baffle extend to a position closely adjacent the upper endof the augerconveyer in order to act as a stripper in preventingharvested material from being thrown forwardly over the auger undernormal conditions. We have found however that in certain crop conditionsin' which there is an abundance of heavy weeds mixed with the grain tionshowing thereof;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along a horizontal plane passingthrough the axis of the conveyer shaft and supporting bearing at thedriving end of the shaft and drawn to anenlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a sectional plan view similar to Figure 2 but showing thebearing mounting at the opposite end of the auger conveyer shaft;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the mountin for the bearing on thedriving end of the auger conveyer, showing the method of supporting thebearing in the end wall of the harvester platform with the slip clutchand driving gear means on the outer end of the shaft; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along a verticalfore-and-aft-extending plane through the harvester platform, showing thedetails of construction of the adjustable baflle over the augerconveyer.

, Referring now to the drawings, the harvesting unit H comprises atransversely extending platform I! including a conventional cutter bar13 behind which is disposed a transversely extending conveyer trough H.An auger conveyer I5 the general arrangement of parts is mounted. in theplatform trough ll for rotarearwardly from the stubbleward end of theplatform 12 and is rigid withrespect thereto.

The auger conveyer 15 comprises a hollow shaft 20 of a substantialdiameter to prevent wrapping of the stalks thereabout and supported onthe hollowshaft 20 is a helically wound auger veyer, the horizontalbaille, indicated in its entirety by reference numeral 2!, is mounted onthe back wall 22 and extends along the length thereof and projectsforwardly over the upper side of the auger II. The baflle 2! comprises apair of upper and lower sheet metal strips 2!, 21 respectively, havingrear flanges 28 serving to support the strips on the back wall 22 bymeans of rivets 29. The strips 28, 21 converge downwardly and forwardlyfrom the back wall and have a pair of downwardly turned outer flanges2|, which flt .closely together and are joined by means of a series ofbolts ii. The lower edges of the flanges 3| terminate above the upperportion of the auger I! and are vertically spaced from the edges of thehelical blade 2| of the auger.

Although it is customary to provide such a beyond the wall ll. The shaftll is Journaled in a bearing hub ll provided with suitable antifrictionrollers 82, and the hub II has a cylindrical portion 52 that isaccurately machined to flt snugly within a cooperative aperture in aplate ll, which sets against a shoulder 55 on the hub. The plate It isrigidly fixed by means of bolts I! to a supporting plate 51 havingoutwardly turned upper and lower flanges 58, ll, respectively. The upperflange II is rigidly but detachably flxed by means of bolts 80 to theoutwardly extending flange of a structural frame member 6| extendinggenerally fore and aft along the side of the wall 4! of the feederhousing it. Similarly, the lower flange I! is rigidly but detachablyconnected by bolts I2 to the outwardly turned flange ll of a bracket 64which is securedto the lower frame member I! in the feeder house. Thus,the supporting plate 51 is supported by means of .the bolts il" directlywithin the opening 5| in the wall ll of the feeder house. The opening IIistightly sealed by means of a sealing plate I, which is apertured toreceive the hub 5| and is flxedfo the supporting plate II by rivets i1and thus bears firmly against the inside of theflfeeder house wall .4!to prevent loss of harvested material through the opening 5|.

baille for the purpose of engaging any stalks that tend to pass over thetop of the auger by virtue of the rotation of the latter and thus causethe stalks to .be moved laterally along the back wall 22 toward thefeeder house It, we have discovered that the efliciency of the baiilecan be greatly .1

increased by providing a means -for adjusting the clearance between thestripper edge along the forward edge of the baffle and the augerconveyer blades 2|. Heretofore it has been customary to providenon-adjustable baffles with sufficient clearance over the auger toprevent heavy weed stalks from clogging the gap between the baiile andthe auger blades, butwhen operating in other conditions where the cropsare clean and with few weeds, the auger does not operate at itsmaximumefficiency due to the clearance being more than necessary. Accordingly,we have provided an adjustable stripper edge in the form of anadjustable edge plate 12, which lies in juxtaposition with thedownwardly turned flanges of the baille strips 26, 21 andextends alongthe entire length of the ballle 25. The plate 22 is provided withvertically extending slots 83, through which the bolts 3| are inserted.The slots 22 permit vertical adjustment of the plate 32 relative to thebolts 2| to increase or decrease the clearance between the lower edge ofthe stripper plate 32 and the blade 2| of the auger IS. The plate 32 isrigidly fixed to the baiiie strips 26, 21 by tightening the nuts 34 onthe bolts 3|.

Each end of the hollow shaft 20 of the auger I5 is supported on a spiderll, 4|, respectively. (See Figures 2 and 3.) Each of the spiderscomprises a casting having a hub portion 42 carrying a radial webportion 43, which carries at its outer edge an axially extending flangeN for supporting the hollow shaft 20. The hubs 2 are each supported on astub shaft l5, ",respectively.

' The stubbleward end of the conveyer l5 extends into the feeder houseIi, which has an opening 48 in its grainward'side to receive the auger.The stubbleward wall 49 of the lower portion of the feeder house II isprovided with an aperture ill, through which the stub shaft 45 extendsThe stub shaft is secured within the hub 42 of the spider N by means di0. key ll disposed in suitable aligned grooves in the hub 42 and stubshaft 48 and held in place by means of a setscrew 1|, which is threadedinto a boss 12 in the hub. The setscrew II can be tightened or loosenedby inserting a suitable socket wrench through an opening 13 in thehollow shaft 20 in alignment with the setscrew Thus, it is evident thatthe stub shaft ll is disposed in driving relaextending from a drivesprocket l6 rotatably mounted on the side wall I! of the feeder-houseand connected to a sprocket II. which is in turn driven by a chainconnection I! from any'suitable source of power on the implement. Thedrive chain 15 is trained over sprocket 80, which is secured by means ofbolts I to one member a pin 21 extending through aligned apertures inthe shaft 45 and member 85. The two clutch members l2, are provided witha pair of intermeshing annular jaw collars 9|, II, respectively, each ofsaid jaw collars being provided with axially extending lugs 92 which fitinto corresponding recesses in the respective clutch members 82, 85 andthereby holding the jaw collars in driving relation with the respectiveclutch members. The jaw collars 9|, 0| are provided with intermeshinghard clutch jaws 93, which are of such a shape as to cause a componentof the driving force to tend to separate the two clutch members byurging the driven member 82 outwardly axially along the shaft 45, inwellknown manner. clutch member '2 is resisted by means of a strongcompression coil spring 95, which encircles the outer end of the stubshaft 45 and bears against This axial movement of the an adjusting nut95, which is threaded on the outer end of the stub shaft 45, the latterbeing correspondingly threaded as indicated at 07. The

adjusting nut 90 is secured in adjusted position by means of a. pin 98,which is adapted to be inserted through an elongated opening in theadjusting nut 93, which can be aligned with a suitable aperture 93 inthe shaft-45 to receive the pin 88. The spring 05 bears against thesprocket I00, which is slidably disposed on the shaft 45 and has drivingjaws IOI, which interengage with corresponding jaws on the hub 54 of theclutch member 82. Thus, the force of the spring 05 is transmittedthrough the sprocket I against themovable clutch member 32.

The purpose of the sprocket I00 is for driving the harvester reel I (seeFigure 1) by means of a chain I05, which drives the sprocket I01 fixedto a countershaft I03 journaled above the feeder house I5 and which inturn is connected by another chain I09 to a sprocket IIO on the shaftIII of the reel I05.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 3, the stub shaft 45 at theopposite end of the auger I5 is fixed in the spider hub 42 by means of asetscrew II which is adjustable through an opening 13' in the hollowshaft 20. The outer end of the stub shaft 45 is supported in a bearinghub I20, containing suitable anti-friction rollers I2I. The hub I20 fitsinto an opening I22 in the end wall I23 at the grainward end of theplatform and is suitably secured therein by means of a cotter pin I24inserted through an opening in the end of the stub shaft 46 outside ofthe bearing hub I20. One or more spacing washers I30 are insertedbetween the end wall I23 and a shoulder I3I on the bearing hub toprevent too much end play of the latteron the stub shaft.

To prepare the implement for transport, the width of the machine must bereduced in order to permit it to pass through narrow gates and alongnarrow roads. The reel and sickle are first removed from the platformand the details 'of these operations form no part of the presentinvention. The cotter pin I24 is then withdrawn from the end of stubshaft 45 and the bearing hub I20 and washers I30 are removed from theend wall I23. at its line of division, indicated at I35 in Figure 1, byremoving certain bolts, the details of which form no part of the presentinvention. The outer half of the platform is then removed, after whichthe auger bearing supporting plate 51 is disconnected from the feederhouse wall 49 by removing the bolts 60, 62. The entire auger I5 can thenhe slid out of the feeder house without dismantling the stubblewardbearings 5| or without removing the sprockets or the slip clutch fromthe stub shaft 45. The supporting plate 51 and the entire drivingmechanism, including sprockets and slip clutch, merely pass through theopening 50, which is large enough to accommodate the removal of theseparts therethrough. This is a great convenience over the conventionalmethod of disassembly, which necessitates dismantling the drivingmechanism, and thus not only saves time but eliminates the danger oflosing some of the many small parts which are assembled in the drivingmechanism.

Obviously, the assembly of the combine is merely the converse of theabove-mentioned procedure. The stubbleward end of the-auger is securedin place once more merely by replacing the bolts 50, 02.

We claim:

1. In a harvesting. machine, a header plat form having an end wall, aconveyer including a shaft extending across said platform and beyondsaid end wall, driving gear means mounted on said shaft outside of saidend wall, the latter being apertured to receive said shaft, a bearing inwhich said shaft is journaled, a plate for supporting said bearing, theaperture being of sufficient size to permit the passage therethrough ofthe shaft with said gear, bearing, and plate thereon during assembly anddisassembly, and means outside said end walls for securing said plate insaid aperture.

2. In a harvester machine, a transverse header platform having avertically disposed fore-andaft-extending end wall, a conveyer includinga transversely disposed shaft extending across said platform, and beyondsaid wall, driving gear means mounted on said shaft outside of said endwall, the latter having an aperture of sufficient size to permit thepassage therethrough of the shaft with saiddriving gear means thereon-during assembly and disassembly, a bearing in The platform I2 is thenseparated which said shaftis joumaled, a support for said bearingincluding a plate inside said end wall and overlapping the aperture toclose the latter, and

means passable through said aperture for securing said bearing supportto said end wall to position said bearing in said aperture. I 3. In aharvesting machine, a header .platform, a feeder housing attached at oneend thereof, said housing being open on the side adjacent the platformand having a wall on the outer side thereof, an auger conveyer extendingacross the platform and including a supporting shaft extending throughsaid feeder house and beyond said outer side wall, the latter beingprovided with an opening to receive said shaft, an axially extendingflange on said wall adjacent said opening driving gear means mount-- edon said shaft beyond said wall and adapted means connecting said flangestogether for securing said plate over said opening to cover the latterduring operation, said plate being passable with said shaft and bearingthrough said opening during assembly and disassembly.

4. In a harvesting machine, a header platform, a feeder housing attachedat one end thereof, said housing being open on the side adjacent theplatform and having a wall on the outer side thereof, an auger conveyerextending across the platform and including a supporting shaft extendingthrough said feeder house and beyond said outer side wall, the latterbeing provided with an opening to receive said shaft, driving gear meansmounted on said shaft beyond said wall and adapted to pass through saidopening with the shaft when the conveyer is assembled and disassembled,a bearing for said shaft, and detachable means-for securing said bearingto said wall to position the bearing in said opening including a plateinside said end wall and overlapping the opening to close the latter.

5. In a harvesting machine, a header platform, a feeder housing attachedat one end thereof,

said housing being open on the side adjacent the tending through saidfeeder house and beyond said outer side wall, the latter being providedwith an opening to receive said shaft, an axially extending flange onsaid wall adjacent said opening', driving gear means mounted on saidshaft 5 beyond said wall and adapted to pass through said opening withthe shaft when the conveyer is assembled and disassembled, a bearing forsaid shaft, a supporting plate attached to said bearing, and having aflange adapted to flt within said wail flange and a plate fixed to saidsupporting curing said plate over said opening to cover the latterduring operation, said supporting plate being passable with said shaftand bearing through said opening during assembly and disassembly.

HAROLD -W. PILCHER.

-ALVIN W. OEHLER.

